• Monday, December 22nd, 2008
To have a horse in your life is a gift.
Horses teach us responsibility. Unlike a bicycle or a
computer, a horse needs regular care and most of it
requires that you get dirty and smelly and up off the
couch. Choosing to leave your cozy kitchen to break
the crust of ice off the water buckets is to choose
responsibility. When our horses dip their noses and
drink heartily; we know we’ve made the right choice.
Learning to care for a horse is both an art and a
science. Some are easy keepers, requiring little more
than regular turn-out, a flake of hay, and a trough of
clean water. Others will test you - you’ll struggle to
keep them from being too fat or too thin. You’ll have
their feet shod regularly only to find shoes gone
missing. Some are so accident-prone you’ll
swear they’re intentionally finding new ways to
injure themselves.
If you weren’t raised with horses, you can’t know
that they have unique personalities. You’d expect
this from dogs, but horses? Indeed, there are clever
horses, grumpy horses, and even horses with a
sense of humor. Those prone to humor will test you by
finding new ways to escape from the barn when you
least expect it.
Horses can be timid or brave, lazy or athletic,
obstinate or willing. You will hit it off with some horses and
others will elude you altogether. There are as many “types” of
horses as there are people - which makes the whole
partnership thing all the more interesting.
If you’ve never ridden a horse, you probably assume
it’s a simple thing you can learn in a weekend.
You can, in fact, learn the basics on a Sunday, but
to truly ride well takes a lifetime. Working with a
living being is far more complex than turning a key in
the ignition and putting the car or tractor in “drive.”
In addition to listening to your instructor, your
horse will have a few things to say to you as well. On a
good day, he’ll be happy to go along with the program
and tolerate your mistakes; on a bad day, you’ll swear
he’s trying to kill you. Perhaps he’s naughty or perhaps
he’s fed up with how slowly you’re learning his language.
Regardless, the horse will have an opinion. He may choose to
challenge you (which can ultimately make you a better rider)
or he may carefully carry you over fences - if it suits him. It all
depends on the partnership - and partnership is what it’s all
about.
If you face your fears, swallow your pride, and are willing to
work at it, you’ll learn lessons in courage, commitment,
and compassion in addition to basic survival skills. You’ll
discover just how hard you’re willing to work toward a goal,
how little you know, and how much you have to learn.
And, while some people think the horse “does all the
work”, you’ll be challenged physically as well as mentally.
Your horse may humble you completely. Or, you may find that
sitting on his back is the closest you’ll get to heaven.
You can choose to intimidate your horse, but do you
really want to? The results may come more quickly, but will
your work ever be as graceful as that gained through trust?
The best partners choose to listen, as well as to tell. When
it works, we experience a sweet sense of accomplishment
brought about by smarts, hard work, and mutual understanding
between horse and rider. These are the days when you know with
absolute certainty that your horse is enjoying his work.
If we make it to adulthood with horses still in our
lives, most of us have to squeeze riding into our
over saturated schedules; balancing our need for
things equine with those of our households and
employers. There is never enough time to ride, or to
ride as well as we’d like. Hours in the barn are stolen
pleasures.
If it is in your blood to love horses, you share your life
with them. Our horses know our secrets; we braid our
tears into their manes and whisper our hopes into their
ears. A barn is a sanctuary in an unsettled world, a sheltered
place where life’s true priorities are clear: a warm place to sleep,
someone who loves us, and the luxury of regular meals. Some
of us need these reminders.
When you step back, it’s not just about horses - it’s about love, life,
and learning. On any given day, a friend is celebrating the birth of a
foal, a blue ribbon, or recovery from an illness. That same day, there
is also loss: a broken limb, a case of colic, a decision to sustain a
life or end it gently. As horse people, we share the accelerated life
cycle of horses: the hurried rush of life, love, loss, and death that
caring for these animals brings us. When our partners pass, it is
more than a moment of sorrow.
We mark our loss with words of gratitude for the ways
our lives have been blessed. Our memories are of joy,
awe, and wonder. Absolute union. We honor our horses for their
brave hearts, courage, and willingness to give.
To those outside our circle, it must seem strange. To
see us in our muddy boots, who would guess such poetry
lives in our hearts? We celebrate our companions with praise
worthy of heroes. Indeed, horses have the hearts of warriors
and often carry us into and out of fields of battle.
Listen to stories of that once-in-a-lifetime horse; of
journeys made and challenges met. The best of horses
rise to the challenges we set before them, asking little in
return.
Those who know them understand how fully a horse can
hold a human heart. Together, we share the pain of sudden
loss and the lingering taste of long-term illness. We shoulder
the burden of deciding when or whether to end the life of a true
companion.
In the end, we’re not certain if God entrusts us
to our horses–or our horses to us. Does it matter?
We’re grateful God loaned us the horse in the first place.
Author Unknown
